To the Editor:

U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker have again introduced legislation to protect nearly 20,000 acres of the Cherokee National Forest as wilderness. The Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2013 will create one new wilderness area, expand five others, and ensure that Tennesseans have wild places to visit long into the future. Passage of this act, which failed to get to the Senate floor last year, represents the first expansion of Tennessee’s wilderness land in 25 years. This acreage is already part of the Cherokee National Forest, so there is no need for federal funds to purchase land. [Read more…]